thingamabob

noun

"thingamabob" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“thingamabob” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A thing or person whose actual name is unknown or forgotten.

Corpus desk

Index EN-thingamabob · thingamabob · English

thingamabob · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "T" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for thingamabob
PropertyValue
Headwordthingamabob
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “thingamabob” in English

thingamabobfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

thingamabob is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A thing or person whose actual name is unknown or forgotten.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for thingamabob, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Alteration of thingumbob: obsolete thingum (from thing) + bob. Earliest citation from 1751, as thingumbobs. The correct English form is thingamabob, spelled T-H-I-N-G-A-M-A-B-O-B.

Definition

  1. 1
    A thing or person whose actual name is unknown or forgotten.

Etymology

Alteration of thingumbob: obsolete thingum (from thing) + bob. Earliest citation from 1751, as thingumbobs.

Synonyms

thingywhatshisname

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "thingamabob"?
"thingamabob" is spelled T-H-I-N-G-A-M-A-B-O-B.
What does "thingamabob" mean?
As a noun, "thingamabob" means: A thing or person whose actual name is unknown or forgotten.
What is the origin of the word "thingamabob"?
Alteration of thingumbob: obsolete thingum (from thing) + bob. Earliest citation from 1751, as thingumbobs. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list